


Light at the end of the tunnel

by Accioscorp



Category: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Hurt, Oliver Wood is a true legend, Puddlemere United, Quidditch, Quidditch player James, james being an actual trouper, james being captain, james loves quidditch so much, james really needs to believe in himself more, we love family members hyping each other up, we stan Mc Gonagall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-01-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:34:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22292650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Accioscorp/pseuds/Accioscorp
Summary: James thinks he has messed up when he plays terrible in the last quidditch game of the year where a scout from his dream quidditch team is present. Little does he knows this scout’s eye has been on him all year and can look past one bad game.
Relationships: James Sirius Potter - Relationship
Comments: 6
Kudos: 11





	Light at the end of the tunnel

Seventh year was in full swing for James Sirius Potter. He had only been back a week but it didn’t look it from the amount of homework and study he had piling up. It was his NEWT year and like always James wanted to do well.

Alongside his schoolwork, he had his quidditch duties to handle as well. Last year James was given the position as Quidditch captain and after leading Gryffindor to their first house cup in years, he was announced as captain for a second year. When he became captain, he felt like he was carrying on the legacy his father and grandfather left behind him and he felt so proud to be the third generation of Potters to captain Gryffindor. He was so excited to be captain again and hopefully lead Gryffindor to another house cup win.

Quidditch was James’ true love and he wanted to be playing all the time. To be captain of his house team was an absolute honour and he took this role very seriously apart from the odd times he got caught up in the other team members messing and Rose would have to step in to bring their attention back. 

He had run quidditch trials last week even though he only had one position to fill after Lucy, their old beater had decided she wanted to focus on her NEWTS this year and wasn’t going to play. James was confident with this team that they had and with the hard work they were willing to put in, they were definitely going to win the house cup again this year. 

The first game against Hufflepuff was approaching thick and fast. They had been training four nights a week since the start of the year and James could not be happier with his teammates. Everything was going so well, and they were looking like a real threat for the house cup. All returning members had upped their games since last year and Fay, who was their new beater had really risen to the occasion.  
With one day to their first game, James could feel the nerves settling in. It happened him before every game. He knew everything would be fine and that they would most likely win. He was never one to judge but he had watched the Hufflepuff team during the week and quite frankly they were terrible. 

He always got nervous for how he would play before every match. James figured out over the summer that he wanted to become a professional quidditch player after Hogwarts. He knew if he wanted to achieve this, this season would have to be his best yet. Last year he had his best season since joining the Gryffindor team in second year. He was the top goal scorer in the whole tournament in his first year as captain. He knew he had to do more than last year if he even wanted to be seen by any scouts that may be coming throughout the year. 

The match came and went and much to James’ happiness they won with flying colours. They won the match 230-40 and he himself had scored eight goals. They were leading the house cup after the first round of games and James couldn’t be more relieved. He was quite proud of how he played, and he knew if he kept at that level for the rest of the year, he would have no problem in getting some sort of deal when he finished his NEWTS.

The second game against Ravenclaw came around a lot faster than James had anticipated. He had been so caught up trying to keep on top of his homework and study and also applying for different training programmes in case he didn’t get offered the quidditch contract. Training was still going well and according to James the team was just getting better and better. He knew Ravenclaw would be much tougher opponents than Hufflepuff, but he was confident his team had what it takes. 

The game had gone exactly how James had imagined and they had narrowly beaten Ravenclaw 100-80. It had been a gruelling match where the weather didn’t help. It had rained the entire match and both teams finished with only four players due to all the fouls that were committed by both teams. James always warned his team to try their best not to commit fouls, but he knew when emotions were high and in horrible conditions, it was bound to happen. 

A few days had passed and slowly his teammates were being released from the hospital wing and returning to training. They were still leading the house cup but Slytherin were close behind and their last game was against them. Whoever won the last game of the season would be crowned house cup champions. James was nervous, really nervous but he never let it show. James had this image among his teammates, housemates and many others in Hogwarts of being this chilled out, laid back person that everything comes easy to. That was far from the case. 

Nothing came easy for James, He worked hard for everything he’s achieved. He stays in the library until crazy hours to keep on top of his homework. He puts his all into everything he does in fear of he doesn’t do his best he’ll let people down. Being James Sirius Potter is stressful, but he can’t let that show. People would think he was lying if he didn’t play the “Everything comes easy to me” act and showed them the real James. Everything was piling up for James with his NEWTS being just around the corner and the house cup decider coming nearer and nearer. He had to stay calm for his sake and his teammates, they expected him to be their fearless leader through the lead up to their biggest match of the year and he couldn’t let them down. A fear of James’ was letting people down and he was going to do all he can to not make that fear a reality. 

The last game against Slytherin was creeping closer and the team’s nerves were starting to kick in. They had been called for a meeting with Madame Hooch at the quidditch pitch along with the Slytherin team. No one on the Gryffindor team knew exactly what this meeting was about, and it looked like the Slytherins were in the same boat. Tensions had been high between both houses since the news broke that the winner would more than likely win the house cup. The death glares and snarky comments stopped as Madame Hooch made her way over towards the two groups.  
“You are probably all wondering why you have been summoned here” she started. “Well I wish to inform you that at our Quidditch cup final this year, scouts from various team will be in attendance looking for young prospects to sign after they graduate from Hogwarts. I know a few of you are interested in heading down the professional route so I have no doubts you will put your best foot forward on the day”. 

James felt his breath catch in his throat. Scouts from professional quidditch teams would be watching him play. This could be his one and only chance to secure his professional contract. If James thought he was nervous before, it was nothing compared to how he was feeling now. His dream since he was thirteen years old could be riding on how he played in his last game for Gryffindor. Knowing that scouts from teams such as the Chudley Cannons, Falmouth Falcons and James’ favourite team and the team he wanted most to sign for, Puddlemere United would be in attendance was the most exciting yet nerve wrecking thought ever. James had always wanted to follow in his mother’s footsteps and become a professional quidditch player. He loved everything about it from what his mother had told him. To James, being a professional quidditch player was his dream and now it could come true.  
With the game against Slytherin being one day away now James went to bed early, hoping he could get a good night sleep ahead of the biggest day in his Quidditch career by far. He tried to sleep but the thought that tomorrow his dream rested on whether he had a good game or not was too much. Tomorrow his dream could either come through or be crushed right in front of him. He turned around, closing his eyes while whispering to himself “Whatever happens Jamie, it’s for the best” and eventually he fell into a deep sleep. 

The day had arrived. The house cup final. Gryffindor v Slytherin and the day James’ dream could come through. He woke up early, making sure he could get a good breakfast before the game. Even though he felt sick to his stomach with nerves, he continued to eat. His teammates all joined him, and it was obvious they were as nervous as him.  
Yann, who was in Albus’ year sat down beside him giving him a pat on the back as he did so. “How you feeling Jamie?” he said as he shovelled some sausages and eggs onto his plate. James turned to look at him and Yann looked as nervous as he did. “Honestly, I’m terrified. I’m terrified I’ll mess up and ruin any chance at getting a contract. This is my last chance before I graduate to get that contract and its nerve wrecking”. James said taking a deep breath to calm himself down.

Yann gave him a reassuring smile to let him know it will all be fine. Once the whole team had finished their breakfast, they grabbed their brooms and started to head down to the pitch to get warmed up. James was stopped by his Lily, Albus and Scorpius who all embraced him in a hug to wish him luck and gave him a pep talk including how amazing he is and that he will definitely get a contract. James loved knowing that he had support from his family and of course Scorpius who James could basically count as a brother now.  
He made his way down to the pitch after his teammates feeling a little more confident after the little pep talk from his siblings and Scorpius. When they reached the dressing room, they got changed into their quidditch gear and started warming up. Just like that James was stood along with his teammates in the tunnel, broom in hand, waiting to fly out into Hogwarts quidditch pitch for the last time as part of the Gryffindor team.  
He let out a shaky breath as the commentator announced the Gryffindor team before hopping on his broom and flying onto the pitch. James’ ear were filled with the screams and chants of the Gryffindor stand which was absolutely packed. As James scanned the crowd, he spotted Albus at the top of the Gryffindor stand along with Lily and Scorpius all cheering and waving at him.  
He gave them a wink as he tried to hide the smile appearing on his face. He flew back down to the ground to shake hands with the Slytherin captain and listen to what Madame Hooch had to say before flying back up and joining his teammates, readying himself for the gruelling match ahead. 

Just as James had imagined, the match was horrible. The score was sat at 40-20 in their favour, but scoring was near damn impossible. Both teams were on their A game as they knew various scouts were currently scanning the sky for their teams next superstar.

James hadn’t really had much action in the game yet. He scored the opening goal of the match but that had been all. He knew he needed to make a bigger impact if he was going to get noticed by any of these scouts, especially the Puddlemere scout as that was who he was determined to impress most. James was thrown the quaffle by his teammate and was racing towards goal. Just as he lifted his arm and threw the quaffle, it was intercepted by a Slytherin chaser and they were gone before James even realised what had happened. He shouted out in frustration and turned around, determined to win the quaffle back.

Events like this continued to happen throughout the match. James was missing shots he would never miss, dropping the quaffle and failing to keep control of his team. Now the score was 70-40 to Slytherin and James knew he had to do something because once the snitch was released it was anybody’s game. Once again James was thrown the quaffle and he was determined to close the gap between the two teams and wasn’t going to let anyone stop him.

He wasn’t paying attention to anything happening around him. All he cared about was getting to that goal and getting the quaffle through the hoop. He was in the zone so much he didn’t notice the Slytherin beater hitting a bludger directly at him. James was snapped out of his trance as the bludger came into contact with his arm. He heard the snap and then felt the pain letting out a scream.  
He looked up and seen how close he was to the goal, so he took a deep breath hoping to ease the pain and sped towards the goal. As he got close, he threw the quaffle as hard as he could praying it would just make it through the hoop, but luck wasn’t on James side as the Slytherin keeper was equal to it. James could feel the tears building up in his eyes from the pain his arm was in but mostly the frustration. He was really letting his dream slip from his grasp. 

Rose could see the frustration growing in James, so as vice-captain she called a time out. All the members of the team flew down in confusion to why she had called a timeout. James landed beside them, instantly dropping his broom and grabbing onto his arm in hope that it would somehow stop the pain. “James, you’re hurt, you need to go to Pomfrey” Rose said starting into James’ eyes.  
“I’m not going anywhere, I’m finishing this match whether we lose or not. My arm is fine, ill get ot sorted once we finish this match. Let’s just get back up there, keep our cool and try wrack up as many points as we can before the snitch is caught” James said trying to hide his frustration. He winced as he picked up his broom signalling to his teammates to do the same as they flew back up to continue the match. 

James sat in the dressing room alone. The rest of the team had left a long time ago. He hadn’t even changed out of his quidditch robes. They had lost the match meaning they had lost the house cup. The game had finished 240 – 100 in favour of Slytherin. In simple words James was devastated. He felt like it was his fault, that he was the reason they had lost. He sat alone, letting the tears fall.  
He didn’t know whether he was crying over the fact he had lost his last ever house cup or the fact that every few seconds a shooting pain would make its way up his arm. He couldn’t bring himself to face anyone, his teammates, his siblings, his friends. Even if they told him it wasn’t his fault, he couldn’t believe them. Maybe if he had actually played the way he knew he could then they would have won.  
He knew he had blown his chance of a contract with any club. After that performance no one would want him playing on their team. 

The only noise that filled the dressing rooms was his sobs until he heard the door open. He expected it was just someone coming to check if they were empty, so he didn’t even lift his head. He then felt someone sit down beside him. He looked up and Professor Mc Gonagall was sitting beside him. He quickly wiped the tears from his eyes, wincing at the pain in his arm as dried his eyes.

“You know it’s not the end of the world potter” she said breaking the silence. James looked up at her. James knew how much quidditch and especially the Gryffindor quidditch team meant to her, but she looked unbothered by the fact he had just made Gryffindor lose the cup. “But what if it is, what if I just ruined my chances of becoming a professional. I just made us lose the house cup because I was terrible” James said letting everything out to her.

James had always had a soft spot for Mc Gonagall and he knew she had a soft spot for him too. He trusted her as much as he trusted his family and he knew he could let everything out to her. “Potter, you did not make Gryffindor lose today. It was a team effort and Slytherin were better. Yes, you might not have had the best game today but that does not mean you made the team lose and I know for a fact you didn’t ruin your chances of getting that contract” she said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

James didn’t know what she was talking about. Had she seen him play? There was no way anyone would want to sign a player like that. He looked at her, confusion evident on his face. “What do you mean you know I didn’t ruin my chances?” James said deciding to ask her out straight. “There’s someone outside who would like to talk to you, shall I tell them you’re ready?” Mc Gonagall said, standing up in front of James.

James just nodded not knowing what was about to happen. “Oh, and afterwards, get that arm of yours looked at” she said as she exited the dressing room. James could feel his heart beating through his chest. Who would possibly want to talk to him? 

He was snapped from his thoughts by another person entering the dressing room. James could have sworn he felt his heart skip a beat as he looked up and seen who was standing in front of him. Standing in the dressing room was no other than retired puddlemere and Gryffindor keeper/captain and present coach of the team, Oliver Wood. James couldn’t believe his eyes. Oliver wood had been an idol of his ever since he was young enough to understand quidditch and now he was stood in front of him.

“James Potter?” Oliver said looking down at James. James shot up from his seat and nodded. “Oliver Wood, it’s great to finally meet you” Oliver said as he put his hand out for a shake. James reached out with his non broken arm and shook his hand. He couldn’t find the words to speak. He was in shock. “How’s the arm?” Oliver said looking down at James’ arm that he had held quite closely to his chest hoping to protect it from any further damage. “ehm quite painful if I’m being honest but nothing Pomfrey can’t fix” James said finally finding his voice. Oliver laughed replying with “Ah good old Pomfrey, she’s probably the only reason I wasn’t killed whilst playing here”. 

James smiled once again not knowing what to say. “You’re probably wondering why I’m here”. Oliver said turning to face James. James replied saying “Kinda, I wasn’t expecting anyone to come talk to me”. “Well James, you probably know I’m the coach of puddlemere and I’ve been here scouting for some potential new signings. At puddlemere were looking mostly at people who can join the team as soon as possible and of course who have obvious talent. You caught my eye from the very first time I seen you all those months ago.” James looked at him with confusion evident on his face once more. What did he mean all those months ago? 

James jumped in saying “I’m sorry to interrupt but what do you mean all those months ago?”. Oliver could see James was confused. “I’ve been attending games here at Hogwarts all year and ever since that first game against Hufflepuff, you caught my eye. Your speed, accuracy, teamwork and of course leadership is way above any I’ve seen at your age. You impressed me a lot this year and I know you didn’t have the best game today, but it just shows you’re not perfect. Nobody is perfect and we are all allowed to have our off days. I know now you are probably looking at the negatives from today but when I saw you get hit by that bludger and continue, my decision was made. That passion and drive you have for your team is inspirational. With that said, how would you like to join the puddlemere team once your NEWTS are finished? I’ve talked with the manager and he would be delighted for you to join and thinks you would be a great asset to them team, so what do you think?”. 

James sat in shock. He had just been offered a contract with his dream quidditch team, the team he had supported since he was four years old. He couldn’t believe it. After everything that had happened today, he was actually offered the contract. 

“Are you serious? Me? playing for puddlemere?, I mean yes, Yes, I would love to. Thank you so much, wow I can’t believe it” James said trying his best not to freak out. Oliver stood up, followed by James and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You really are something special and someone everyone would be proud to have on their team James. I know Puddlemere will help you achieve great things and I’m glad you’re so willing to join us. James thanked him again by saying “You really have no idea what this means to me. It’s been a dream of mine to play for Puddlemere so I can’t thank you enough for giving me this opportunity”. 

He knew he had the biggest smile plastered across his face, but he didn’t care. His dream was about to become a reality. “No need to thank me James. Now get that arm sorted and recovered, I can’t be bringing back our new superstar injured, can I? and go ace those NEWTS and we’ll sort everything out after that” Oliver said giving James shoulder a squeeze. James thanked him once again before Oliver made his way out of the dressing room leaving him alone once more.

James sat back down, taking a minute to take in everything that had just happened. His dream had just come true. In a month, he would be officially a puddlemere player, a dream he had since he was four years old. He got back up, grabbing his broom and headed up towards the castle. Today had quickly gone from being the worst day of James’ life to the best day of his life and he was so excited to see what the future was going to bring. Once he got his broken arm fixed of course.


End file.
